NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 potential destinations for Will Barton

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: Will Barton #5 of the Denver Nuggets reacts during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

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You may not know much about him, but Will Barton is one of the key free agents on the market this summer. Where would he fit best?

Will Barton isn’t exactly a household name. He sounds less like a basketball player and more like a character from some mid-20th century Western. Try Bonanza or Gunsmoke. If not that, he’s a home mortgage consultant at the local bank.

He will also not be a household name after the NBA free agency season. Whatever headlines he makes will be lost in the LeBron and Kawhi and Paul George coverage. But, depending on where he lands, he could be one of the most important acquisitions of the offseason.

Almost no bench player outside of perennial Sixth Man of the Year contender Lou Williams is more productive than Will Barton, local church deacon. And, more importantly, his numbers are still trending upward. By the end of the 2017-18 season, Barton had posted career-highs in almost every offensive category, including points and assists. He also proved he could carry a starter’s minutes load for Denver in the absence of guard Gary Harris. Not bad for a public defense lawyer and sometimes political blogger.

In other years, Barton would make for a nice addition to any contender or playoff team, but many of those teams either have set rosters or no cap space. Still, he should see plenty of offers from a variety of teams. He’s 27, so what he may be deciding between is whether to take less money to win now or more money to possibly win later.

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